I think I came out with some rank, 4-days-of-sweaty, swag-greedy, Comic-book-lovers'-funk on me. But no romantic conquest.
And perhaps some classic, So@24 introspective to share.
The closest I came was when a timid, Storm Trooper removed her helmet and approached me at the booth. She was about 12 and was your stereo-typical emo kid. Long, dyed-black bangs with red streaks (a la' Rufio) that hungover one side of her face. She caked on the eye liner, that much I could tell from her only exposed eye. She looked up at me (sans smile), no emotion, completely deadpan, and said, "I just want you to know, you have gorgeous eyes."
She put back on her helmet and left me confused as she disappeared from my life into the mass of costumed conventioners.
Hey. I'll take the compliment where I can get it.
I witnessed a lot of romance this weekend. And by that I mean, I wept for my gender as I saw hundreds of guys line up to have their buddies snap pictures of them standing next to busty, booth babes wearing costumes not much larger than an eye patch.
* * *
On Friday, I returned to my hotel after working a grueling, twelve hour day. This is my first time I have been sent on "business"; so it was a little weird for me to be put up in my own hotel room and actually have the intention of working. Made me feel like an adult and shit.
There's something about hotel rooms when you're single. Being alone in a hotel room at night is one of the most lonely circumstances I've experienced in awhile. I flipped on Forensic Files for a bit of a distraction, but I was restless. I grabbed my jacket and headed out alone to see what the Gaslamp District of San Diego had to offer.
I found a bar not too far away from the hotel. The bar scene was in full swing, but it wasn't too hard to find a place to sit... especially when it's just yourself you have to worry about.
I downed a shot of house whiskey and nursed a pint for some prime people watching.
It was great. These people have all come together in one place to completely geek out and be themselves without apology.
One couple caught my attention; a girl dressed up as Rogue from X-Men and her boyfriend was dressed as Magneto. They had their own little table at the corner of the bar, holding hands, ignoring everyone else around them and engrossed in their own private conversation.
Maybe it was the whiskey, but it got me thinking. How fortunate was it that these two X-Men aficionados have found each other! There is someone out there for everyone!
And with that thought, I smiled, downed my beer and closed out. My stomach grumbled a "fuck you" and I thought I'd make it happy by stopping by a Ralph's on my way back to the hotel.
When I got back to the room, I tossed my key on the table and flipped on the t.v.
The faint clamor from the bars and soft glow of the television almost drug me back into that lonely place I was at only a few hours before. But as I bit into my soggy ham & cheese sandwich, I thought to myself: If Rogue and Magneto can put aside their differences and find true love, my chance will come too.
There's something about hotel rooms when you're single. Being alone in a hotel room at night is one of the most lonely circumstances I've experienced in awhile. I flipped on Forensic Files for a bit of a distraction, but I was restless. I grabbed my jacket and headed out alone to see what the Gaslamp District of San Diego had to offer.
I found a bar not too far away from the hotel. The bar scene was in full swing, but it wasn't too hard to find a place to sit... especially when it's just yourself you have to worry about.
I downed a shot of house whiskey and nursed a pint for some prime people watching.
It was great. These people have all come together in one place to completely geek out and be themselves without apology.
One couple caught my attention; a girl dressed up as Rogue from X-Men and her boyfriend was dressed as Magneto. They had their own little table at the corner of the bar, holding hands, ignoring everyone else around them and engrossed in their own private conversation.
Maybe it was the whiskey, but it got me thinking. How fortunate was it that these two X-Men aficionados have found each other! There is someone out there for everyone!
And with that thought, I smiled, downed my beer and closed out. My stomach grumbled a "fuck you" and I thought I'd make it happy by stopping by a Ralph's on my way back to the hotel.
When I got back to the room, I tossed my key on the table and flipped on the t.v.
The faint clamor from the bars and soft glow of the television almost drug me back into that lonely place I was at only a few hours before. But as I bit into my soggy ham & cheese sandwich, I thought to myself: If Rogue and Magneto can put aside their differences and find true love, my chance will come too.
